Operation REDISCOVERY
by deLattre
Summary: A fourteen-year old girl receives an invitation from the KND.
1. Chapter 1

Once upon a time, there was a teenage girl looking up at a Treehouse. She had traveled six hours to see this hideout, and it was a sight to behold. The tree sprouted out of the roof of a house. In its foliage were nestled cannons, telescopes, wooden buildings, and even part of a ship. The Treehouse's proportions were surreal: nearly as large as her old school. No wonder she had been able to see the base from five miles away.

She walked closer, feeling her heart soaring. For years she had lurched from failure to failure. The problem was, she had never possessed any initiative or assertiveness. At least not since the incident. On her thirteenth birthday, Fanny had woken up in the school nurse's office with amnesia. To her dismay, she had realized that she couldn't remember her life between eight and thirteen years old. The result of falling off monkey bars during recess and hitting her head, the nurse and doctors claimed. Fanny didn't buy it: how could hitting one's head cause highly selective amnesia? Her father suggested that the damage may have been inflicted by someone, which made more sense, but regrettably he had no idea who could have wanted to harm Fanny. Nevertheless, in a short space of time she had surmounted the handicap. But nothing had gone right since then, not in school, in sports, in her relationships, or in her extra-curricular endeavors. Nothing.

But hopefully that was about to change. A week ago she had received an invitation from a secret organization called the Kids Next Door, claiming that they were interested in recruiting her and offering to meet her here, at the bottom of the Treehouse in Cleveland. This was her chance to accomplish something meaningful, so she had jumped on it.

She reached the bottom of the house and took in the majestic sight. A few minutes passed. She should probably ring at the door, a voice inside her suggested, but she simply couldn't tear her eyes away from the treehouse. The term 'mesmerized' had just taken on a new meaning for her.

"Hold it right there, adult!" said an angry voice.

She looked ahead. A boy-probably eleven or twelve years old by the looks of it- was standing ten feet away. His fists were clenched and he was scowling. Her first look at Kids Next Door operative! A yellow gun and a walkie talkie were clipped to his belt.

"Who are you?" he asked in that same angry tone.

"Oh uh, my name is Fanny Fulbright." said Fanny courteously. "I'm here because I received a letter from the Kids Next Door a week ago. You said you wanted to meet me."

"Oh really?" replied the boy, scepticism radiating from him. "Well where is that letter, huh? Show it to me?"

Fanny bit her lips in trepidation. She had hoped that this issue wouldn't be brought up. "I do not have the invitation anymore, I'm sorry. I don't know why, but it burst into flames yesterday."

The child scrutinized her for a few seconds. Then, surprisingly, the hard look on his face softened and he relaxed his fists. He raised his walkie-talkie. "Numbuh 528? "It's all right, it's nothing. It's just one of the last, uh, ex-operatives responding ter our messages. Her name is Fanny Fulbright."

….

Don't worry, I can handle it. Ya briefed us on what ter do."

….

"Yeah, ah'll be careful. Ah'll let you know if she passes the test." The child pocketed his communication device and shifted his attention back to Fanny.

"Come with me, Fanny. Let's go for a walk."

They walked down the street in silence. For a minute, the only sound was the crunching of autumn leaves under their feet.

At length the boy spoke up. "So, Fanny. You want ter be a Kids Next Door operative?"

"Yes I do." Said Fanny, beaming. "There's nothing I want more in the world."

"Well my first question is, how old are ya?"

"Fourteen." answered Fanny, cringing slightly. Her apprehension was unfortunately justified: the child's face fell.

"Twenty." he repeated. "Now that's a bit of a problem. We accept kids, but not teenagers or adults. If ye're fourteen, that makes you an adult."

"But I believe in the Kids Next Door. I'm a kid at heart. Can't you overlook my age?"

The operative made no direct reply. Instead he adopted a puzzled expression (one which seemed oddly contrived) and inquired: "Fanny, ah don't understand. Why haven't ya heard of the Kids Next Door before? Why are ya trying ter join now?"

"Because, because", she stammered, caught unprepared, "I never knew it existed. I didn't see any signs."

"Ya never saw any signs?" he probed, looking surprised. "There were no supercool ships or giant robots where ya grew up? No treehouses?"

"I did a Treehouse and some really cool looking ships where I lived. But I always thought they belonged to the government."

The boy stared at her, clearly unimpressed. Since he didn't anything, Fanny raised the big question again. "So, can I join the Kids Next Door?"

The response was cruelly unmistakable. "I'm sorry, Fanny. You're too told. There's nothing we can do for ya."

Fanny stared blankly at the ground, crushed. "So this is it. This is the end." After being led to expect so much, she was going home empty-handed. It was a spectacular disappointment.

"Yeah, it is. Ya understand why, right?"

For a second, Fanny was seized by a vindictive urge to tell everyone she knew about the Kids Next Door. But that wouldn't help her cause. It would only punish them. "I understand." She stated, though not without a trace of bitterness. "I guess I should get going now."

She made to leave, but the boy held her back.

"Wait, Fanny. Don't leave! We can't let you join the Kids Next Door, but we can give ya something even better."

In a flash, Fanny's enthusiasm and hope reappeared. "What do you mean? What can you give me?"

The boy smiled. "Something that will change yer life." He brought his walkie-talkie to his ear once more. "Numbuh 258? Ya can bring out the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. She passed the test."


	2. Chapter 2

They waited for a moment. Then a whirring noise came from the top of the treehouse. As Fanny looked on, a ship rose into the sky. It was the strangest craft she had ever seen, essentially consisting of a metal cylinder with three small jets attached to its rear. Not only that, but flames were shooting out of the jets' engines.

The ship flew towards them and landed on the front lawn. She saw the craft's door open. The blond boy walked towards it and motioned for Fanny to follow.

Once inside the ship, she took a look around. There was a lower and an upper deck. The lower deck took up most of the ship. Along its walls were six swiveling chairs with seat belts, three for each side. In front of each chair, there was a computer or a motion detection device. As for the upper deck, it was occupied by an open cockpit.

There were two kids already present: a pig-tailed girl with black hair seated in one of the swiveling chairs, and a sandy-haired boy in the cockpit.

"Welcome aboard, Fanny." said the blond boy enthusiastically. "Let me introduce ya ter my teammates. This is Numbuh Three (he gestured towards the girl), and this is Numbuh 528 (he indicated the boy). And ah'm Numbuh 700, but ya can call me Joey."

Numbuh Three...that name sounded familiar. Fanny had heard it before, but she couldn't remember where.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, my lady. I see the rumors of your beauty have not been exaggerated." said Numbuh 528 smoothly.

Fanny gave a snort of laughter. Had she heard his words correctly?

"Give it a rest, Sandy. She's not your girlfriend." snapped Numbuh Three.

"I was just trying to be gallant." retorted Numbuh 528 sullenly, crossing his arms.

Numbuh Three walked up to Fanny and offered her hand. "It's nice to meet, you, Fanny."

The Irish girl took the hand. "Thanks." she said gratefully. So are these your codenames? You know, Numbuh Three, Numbuh 700?"

"That's right! Now take a seat and strap yourself in. It's going to be a wild ride!"

Wondering what that meant, Fanny picked the seat next to Numbuh Three, which happened to be the only chair facing forward. All the other ones faced inwards.

Hardly had Fanny put on her seatbelt that the ship rocketed off into the sky at a nearly vertical angle. The resulting force of gravity was crushing: Fanny was pinned against her chair, unable to lift a hand.

But the kids didn't seem inconvenienced. While they too were strapped down, they were reading comic books and easily shifting in their seats-at least, Numbuh Three and 700 were. Perhaps it was a matter of habit.

Abruptly, the blue sky beyond the cockpit's window was replaced by starry blackness. For the first time in her life, Fanny was in space. Without gravity, the invisible pressure on her body vanished. She breathed easy.

"So where are we going?" she asked Numbuh Three.

The other girl looked up from her radar screen. "Kids Next Door Moonbase, silly!"

"A _Moonbase_? You have a base on the Moonbase?"

"Of course." Said Numbuh 700. "See fer yerself."He pointed to the cockpit's window. Fanny was shocked to see that they had almost reached the moon. And sure enough, on the satellite's surface was a red-orange structure.

As the 'Moonbase' steadily grew larger, Fanny's amazement mounted. The station was a city, a conglomeration of bright skyscrapers and winding tunnels. Its foundations were a baobab with red corals instead of leaves. This was the stuff from which dreams were made.

Their pilot spoke into a radio. "This is Numbuh 528 to Global Command, requesting permission to land."

"Global Command to Numbuh 528. You are clear to land." came the reply.

They landed in a hangar near the trunk of the Moonbase. Fanny remembered having visited a Boeing factory when she was fourteen. This hangar was easily three times as large.

She wanted to explore this Moonbase, to discover its purpose and the identity of its owners. It looked like her wish was about to be satisfied: the three kids hurriedly led her out of the plane and through the hangar. At the edge of the bay there were a dozen elevators: they got into one of them.

The elevator began rising, all smoothness and speed. It had railings to which the kids were clinging, so Fanny imitated them. She wondered why they were doing so, until the elevator sharply leaned forward. Then it tilted to the right, to the left, backwards, and returned to its original position. Finally the doors opened and the company got out.

They were in a fairly large cylindrical room. At its center stood a circular metal floor, a table, and two children-a girl and a boy. Beyond the floor was a dark pit. There were gates (or perhaps elevators, Fanny couldn't tell) at the four corners of the room. Doors and floor were connected by four walkways.

"Are we late, Numbuh 150?" Sandy called to the girl.

"Nope, you're on time, Numbuh 528! The others have just arrived. They're waiting in partying room. "

Fanny's guides steered her towards the center of the room. In the process, she noticed that the boy was holding an old-fashioned wooden camera with a wheel crank handle.

"Step right up, man!" he exclaimed in a thick Jamaican accent. "You're about to get your childhood memories back!"

"My memories…" she said quietly to herself. "So it's true. I did lose my memories! I knew it!"

Fanny reached the circle. "And here we go!" shouted Numbuh 150 before the Irish girl could ask any questions.

She turned the handle. A beam of blue light streamed out of the camera and enveloped Fanny, causing her to rise into the air. A succession of memories poured into her mind-a blond girl telling her off, a group of children asking her for orders, a theater overlooking the earth. It hurt-the memories were too many, too intense. She wanted the pain to end, she would do anything, even leave the Moonbase.

Then the beam wasn't firing anymore. She tumbled to the ground, but got up instantly. She was Numbuh 86. She had returned.

"What are you looking at, boy?!" she yelled at the Jamaican operative.

The five kids rolled their eyes at each other knowingly. "Well, she's back." remarked Numbuh Three.

"Follow me, Numbuh 86." said Sandy loudly. He led her to the opposite door.

"I don't know who you think you are, boy",Fanny seethed, "but you'd better have a good reason for having recommissioned me!"

The gate swooshed open, and Fanny froze at the sight that met her eyes. She recognized the partying room, where operatives sometimes held birthday parties. But more importantly, all her former teammates from the Kids Next Door were standing there, applauding her. Rachel, Herbert, Nigel, Patton-as handsome and rugged as ever-they were all here.

She stumbled forward hesitantly, feeling confetti raining down upon her and wondering if this was real. She no longer felt angry about getting being recommissioned. What did it matter when her friends had received the same treatment? Her first act was to run towards Patton. She pulled him into a tight hug, which he reciprocated. "I've missed you so much, Patton." she whispered. "Where have you been all these years?"

* * *

><p>"ENOUGH! I'm sorry, Numbuh 60, but I can't let you finish your story. We have to get on with the decommissioning."<p>

"But I'm almost done!" protested Patton. "Can you just give me a few more minutes?"

Numbuh 99 shook his head. "We've already given you plenty of time. We really need to get this over with."

Patton supposed it was no use arguing. He tried to move towards Fanny, though the metal restraints on his wrists and ankles made this difficult. "What did you think of my story, Fanny?" he asked. "Did you like the ending?"

They would not be recommissioned, not in a hundred years. But he had wanted to lighten the mood. Otherwise, they would go out like any average thirteen year old operatives, and that was unacceptable. More importantly, though, he needed to know how Fanny felt about him. After all, she hadn't forgiven him for his outburst in the cafeteria on Thursday.

Fanny wasted no time in answering. "It's a dumb story, and I don't think it can happen. But yeah, I liked the ending."

"Are you still mad at me for what I said on Friday?"

"I'm mad that I lost the fight." she muttered. "But I forgive ya, for what it's worth."

Patton leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes blissfully. "Thanks." he muttered as the shout of "standard procedure!" filled the room. "That's all I needed to know."


End file.
